Certain machines, such as gas turbines, power generating devices, etc., utilize fuel to power their operations. For example, a conventional gas turbine typically utilizes natural gas as a fuel that is combusted in order to rotate a turbine section. Natural gas supplied to the gas turbine is often divided into several flows that are supplied to different fuel circuits within the gas turbine, such as one or more fuel circuits within a combustor section of the gas turbine. Given the use of a single fuel type in these conventional gas turbines, the splitting of natural gas is typically accomplished via mass flow based fuel splits.
However, in certain machines and other applications, a plurality of different fuel types may be utilized. For example, recent gas turbines applications may utilize both natural gas and synthesis gas. Due to the presence of different fuel compositions across the various fuel circuits, traditional mass flow based fuel splitting is inadequate because the mass flow and energy contents are not equivalent or proportional for the different fuels. Using mass flow based fuel splits with different fuel compositions may lead to combustion instabilities, hardware damage, and/or compromise the performance and operability of the gas turbine.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved systems and methods for controlling fuel flow within a machine.